Apparatus for loading bagged mail from a loading dock into a highway vehicle

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to the loading of mail bags from a loading dock into an end loading highway vehicle to fully load the vehicle with compactly formed tiers, in which a pair of tandem connected run back conveyors are mounted on the loading dock for running under existing mail bag handling conveyors, that are proportioned lengthwise, and are mounted to be moved into the vehicle for loading purposes, to extend between the existing conveyor and the desired unloading point of the bags within the vehicle. The bags are moved single file down the conveyors, with the leading conveyor end being tiltable upwardly about an axis between the conveyor ends and carrying a transversely movable reversibly driven load discharge conveyor apparatus, whereby the bags may be discharged to either side of the vehicle to form compact vertical mail bag stacks up to the full height of the vehicle.

United States Patent McWilliams 1' Mar. 28, 1972 APPARATUS OR LOADINGBAGGED MAIL FROM A LOADING DOCK INTO A HIGHWAY VEHICLE [7 2] lnventor:Joseph E. McWilliams, 1345 Canterbury Lane, Glenview, 111. 60025 [22]Filed: Sept. 15,1970

[21] Appl. No.: 72,428

[52] U.S. Cl. ..214/6 G,214/41, 198/101 [51] Int. Cl ....B65g 67/08,865g 57/112 [58] Field ofSearch ..214/41,6P,6'DK,6G; 198/101, 126

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,669,999 5/1928 1 Olsen..1214/6 G 2,767,863 10/1956 Botley..... 214/6 G 2,870,922 1/1959Thomson..,. ..214/6 P 3,182,859 5/1965 Harris et al..... 214/17 C X3,471,037 10/1969 McWilliams... .....2l4/41 X 3,513,991 5/1970McWilliams ..214/6 G FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 647,325 10/1962Italy ..214/6 G Primary Examiner-Gerald M. Forlenza AssistantExaminer-Robert J. Spar Attomey-Mann, Brown, McWilliarns & BradwayABSTRACT The invention relates to the loading of mail bags from aloading dock into an end loading highway vehicle to fully load thevehicle with compactly formed tiers, in which a pair of tandem connectedrun back conveyors are mounted on the loading dock for running underexisting mail bag handling conveyors, that are proportioned lengthwise,and are mounted to be moved into the vehicle for loading purposes, toextend between the existing conveyor and the desired unloading point ofthe bags within the vehicle. The bags are moved single file down theconveyors, with the leading conveyor end being tiltable upwardly aboutan axis between the conveyor ends and carrying a transversely movablereversibly driven load discharge conveyor apparatus, whereby the bagsmay be discharged to either side of the vehicle to form compact verticalmail bag stacks up to the full height of the vehicle.

7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures This invention relates to apparatus forloading mail bags into highway vehicles of the end loading type, andmore specifically relates to improvements of the general type shown inmy US. Pat. No. 3,507,4l l, granted Apr. 21, 1970.

Prior to the arrangements disclosed in my said patent, procedures forloading mail bags into highway vehicles have largely been manual innature, with the workers involved dragging individual bags into thevehicle from a pile of bags on the adjacent loading dock, and thenindividually positioning and lifting the bag as necessary to form thevertical bag stacks within the vehicle that are conventional loadingpractice. At best, hand carts were some times employed to reduce some ofthe manual effort involved, but the handling required of each bag wasstill pretty much the same; in both cases, much repetition of bagoriented movements was required for each bag, which is wasteful ofeffort and inefiicient in terms of time and cost of getting a job done.The result was that valuable equipment was unduly tied up to accommodatethe slow loading procedures, and labor was in short supply as workersbecame increasingly reluctant to take on jobs involving such hard work.

Nevertheless, the Post Office Department and others concerned with thetransport of loaded mail bags have continued to load something on theorder of 50,000 trucks a day in the U.S.A. in this manner at a cost onthe order of 18 Dollars a truck, which gives an indication of themagnitude of the problem.

In accordance with the inventions disclosed in my said patent, mail bagsare oriented on the loading dock in the positions they are to have inthe vehicle, and then are mechanically moved into the vehicle and arestacked while maintaining such orientation, and with the operator nothaving to enter the vehicle loading area, or the bags not having to bepalleted in groups to reduce individual bag handling. The presentinvention relates to improvements and modifications in the basicarrangement of my said patent, whereby bags are mechanically movedsingle file from the loading dock into the vehicle down the middle ofthe vehicle and are discharged into compact stacks to fill the vehicle,they being elevated and moved laterally of their path of movementthrough the vehicle as required to do this.

A principal object of this invention is to provide apparatus forstacking mail bags in end loading highway vehicles without requiringthat the operator enter the vehicle or that the mail bags being palletedin groups to reduce individual handling.

Another principal object of this invention is to provide apparatus forloading bagged mail in transport vehicles in closely spaced relationshipto the end that the available air space within the vehicle will beloaded to the maximum, and all manual motions ordinarily required tohandle the bags within the vehicle are performed by mechanical meansarranged to carry, elevate as necessary, and deposit the bags in thecompact relationship necessary to maximize the pay load by substantiallyfilling the available cubic loading space of the vehicle.

Another principal object of the invention is to provide apparatus forloading of end opening vehicles such as motor trucks and trailers whichpermits a single operator to efficiently load the entire transportvehicle without stepping inside it.

Still other objects of the invention are to provide apparatus forloading bagged mail in transport vehicles that is adapted for full pushbutton actuation and control, to provide methods and apparatus forhandling bagged mail that permits substantially automatic handling ofthe mail bags as oriented for final positioning within the vehicle, andto provide mail bag handling apparatus that is economical ofmanufacture, convenient and reliable in use, and adapted for allconventional mail bag loading dock areas and vehicles or theirequivalents.

In accordance with this invention, the mechanical bag handling apparatusinvolved comprises two tandem connected run back conveyors in which therearwardly disposed conveyor is at a level for convenient manual liftingof bags onto same and/or positioning under existing bag handlingconveyors to receive bags therefrom, and the forwardly disposed conveyorcomprises a conveyor frame upwardly tiltable about an axis adjacent thelevel of the rearward conveyor and the connection of same to the forwardconveyor, and including at its forward end a discharge conveyorreversably drivable and mounted for bodily shifting movement laterallyof the forward and rearward conveyors. The discharge conveyor has alength somewhat less than half the width of the vehicle being loaded, sothat by appropriately positioning the discharge conveyor and operatingsame in either direction, bags can be positioned in any desired positionlaterally of the load receiving vehicle.

Yet other objects, uses, and advantages will be obvious or becomeapparent from a consideration of the following detailed description andthe application drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevational view of a semitrailer in theprocess of being loaded in accordance with the present invention, withparts being broken away;

FIG. 2 is a fragmental elevational view on an enlarged scaleillustrating in greater detail the reversibly driven bag dischargeconveyor that is operated to dispose the mail bags in verticallydisposed stacks;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the arrangement shown in FIG. 1, with thehighway vehicle being shown in section to expose its interior and themail bag loading apparatus operating within the vehicle;

FIG. 4 is a view substantially along line 4-4 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmental plan view of the bag discharge conveyor shown inFIG. 2.

However, it is to be understood that the specific drawing illustrationsprovided are supplied primarily to comply with the requirements of thePatent Code, and that the invention is susceptible of other embodimentswhich are intended to be covered by the appended claims.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION Reference numeral 10 of FIGS. 1 and 3 generallyindicates one embodiment of the present invention, which is closelyrelated to the basic approach of my said US. Pat. No. 3,507,411, forloading mail bags from a loading dock 12 into an end loading vehicle 14,which vehicle has been illustrated as being in the form of the familiarsemitrailer, although the invention is readily applicable to any endloading vehicle.

It is assumed that the mail bag handling installation involved includesthe loading dock 12 (of a Post Office or the like), that is convenientlyprovided with a level load support surface 16 and the usual shoulder orend 18 adjacent to which the vehicle 7 14 is backed up for purposes ofbeing loaded.

It is also assumed that the vehicle 14 is in the form of the usual body20 defined by forward end wall 22, top wall 24, side walls 26 and 28,floor 30 and end opening 32 that is customarily closed by suitable doorsor the like (not shown). The body 20, being of the semi-trailer type,rides on the usual rear wheels 34 and is provided with the usual kingpin36 for connection to the fifth wheel of a conventional tractor truck(not shown).

In accordance with this invention, there is associated with the loadingdock 12 at the position 37 where the vehicle body is to be stationed forloading purposes, a mail bag receiving conveyor 38 and a mail bagstacking conveyor 40 equipped at its discharge end 41 with a mail bagdischarging and stacking device 43.

As indicated in FIG. 3, conveyors 38 and 40 are aligned longitudinallyof the vehicle, and have a width to accommodate one mail bag oriented toextend longitudinally of the vehicle. Preferably, conveyors 38 and 40operate in association with a conventional conveyor 45 of the typegenerally associated with Post Office facilities to convey mail bags tothe loading dock l2. Conveyor 38, and the conveyor 40 when horizontallydisposed, preferably are at an elevation above the loading dock surface16 such that mail bags can readily be lifted onto the conveyor 38 fromeither side thereof, as well as being conveyed thereto from conveyor 45.

Conveyors 38 and 40 are secured together in tandem at their respectiveends 50 and 52, with the conveyor 38 being of sufficient length so thatits rear end 54 will be disposed under the projecting end 56 of conveyor45 when the forward end 41 of the conveyor 40 is positioned to load thefirst stack 46 of mail bags 44 at the front end 22 of the body 14.

(1 The conveyor 40 comprises a conveyor frame 60 pivotally 3in frame 60and wheel frame 62 is a power operated elevating mechanism 64 whichoperates to tilt the frame 60 about its pivotal axis 66 to raise theframe 60 between a substantially horizontal position and the dashed lineposition of FIG. 1 to facilitate stacking of the bags 44.

The bag discharge device 43 comprises a conveyorapparatus 70 extendingtransversely of the path of movement defined by the conveyors 38 and 40and mounted for movement longitudinally of its own path of movement,that is transversely of the conveyors 38 and 40. Such movement of theconveyor apparatus 70 is achieved by power operating mechanism 72. Itwill be noted from FIG. 3 that conveyor apparatus 70 has a length lessthan the width of the loading area 74 defined by the body 14, theintention being that the conveyor apparatus 70 be movable transverselyof the vehicle body 14 so that when a mail bag 44 is deposited on theconveyor apparatus 70, the conveyor apparatus 70 may be driven by itsown drive mechanism 76 (see FIG. to discharge the v bags from a selectedend 78 or 80 of the conveyor apparatus 70. Conveyor 40 and its bagdischarge device 40 provide a bag handling conveyor apparatus 81 ofgenerally T shaped configuration.

Conveyor apparatus 38 comprises frame 82 suitably supporting andtraining conveyor belt 84, while frame 60 of conveyor 40 suitablysupports and trains conveyor belt 86; conveyor apparatus 70 comprisesconveyor frame 88 suitably supporting and training conveyor belt 90.Conveyor belt 84 is driven by a suitable drive apparatus 92 whileconveyor belt 86 is driven by suitable drive apparatus 94 and conveyorbelt 90 is driven by the drive apparatus 76.

Preferably the loading dock is arranged in such a manner that conveyors38 and 40 when not in use may be run back to the right under conveyor45, with the conveyor 40 disposed in its inoperative horizontal positionand positioned under conveyor 45, so as to be in an out ofthe wayposition until needed. Conveyor 45 as illustrated is intended torepresent conveyors of the conventional type utilized by the Post OfficeDepartment and other mail handling facilities, and is assumed to have awidth comparable to conveyors 38 and 40 for conveying bags 44 when thebags extend longitudinally of conveyor 45.

When the vehicle 14 is positioned in the manner indicated in FIGS. 1 and2 for being loaded with mail bags, the conveyor 38 and 40 are run out tothe left from under the conveyor 45 and moved within the vehicle body20. The conveyors 38 and 40, 45 and 70 are selectively put intooperation by the operator operating suitable controls built into thecontrol panel 35, it being a basic thesis of this invention thatconveyors 38, 40 and 70 be arranged so that these pieces of apparatusare operated without anyone having to go into the vehicle 14 and forthis purpose, the controls preferably are of the push button typeapplied to control panel 35 or its equivalent, and they may be of anysuitable electric and/or electronic type that will serve the purpose.

Assuming conveyors 38, 40 and 45 are operating, as the individual bagsare deposited on the conveyor 38 from the conveyor 45 (or are liftedonto the conveyor 38 from the side thereof and disposed to extendlongitudinally of the conveyor 38 if no conveyor 45 exists or it is notin use), the bags are conveyed single file into the vehicle by theconveyor 38 and thence onto the conveyor 40, which moves them onto con-7 ounted at its end 52 on wheel frame 62 which rides on the v floor 30of the body 14. Connected between the conveyor veyor apparatus 70. Theoperator on observing that a bag 44 is deposited on conveyor apparatus70 actuates power operated mechanism 64 to dispose conveyor 40 at anelevation such that the bag 44 will not have a drop exceeding 24 inchesand be deposited into a stack 46. When loading of the body l4-is firstcommenced, the apparatus 10 is positioned so that the conveyor 70 isadjacent the front wall 22 of the body 20 and conveyor 40 has its endpositioned at its lowest operating level relative to the body floor 30.Power operating mechanism 72 is then operated to move the conveyorapparatus 70 to either one side or the other of conveyor 40, forinstance the side shown in FIG. 3, and then drive 76 is actuated tooperate conveyor to deposit the bag 46 on the floor 30 adjacent frontend wall 22 and side wall 26.

The next bag 44 is handled in a similar manner but deposited next to thefirst bag, conveyor 70 being positioned laterally of the conveyor 40 asrequired for this purpose. Subsequent bags are handled in like manneruntil the limit of movement of the conveyor apparatus 70 upwardly ofFIG. 3 (laterally of the vehicle) is reached, whereupon for succeedingbags apparatus 70 is moved appropriately, by activating mechanism 72,for discharging succeeding bags from its end 78 to complete the firstbag tier 46.

The first tier of the first stack 42 completed, the operation isrepeated with the conveyor 40 elevated to provide the next tier 46 ontop of the first tier 46 in the first stack 42, and so forth, until thefirst stack 42 is completed, whereupon the apparatus 10 is movedrearwardly of the vehicle 14 to form the next stack 42 in like manner.Similarly, stacking of the bags is completed until stacks are formedthroughout the length of the vehicle 14, after which the vehicle openend is secured in the usual manner and driven off to be replaced by asimilar vehicle that is located in like manner.

The handling of the bags 44 in moving them from the conveyor 45 orloading dock 12 is thus carried out after having made a singleorientation of the bag as to the position it is to take longitudinallyof the vehicle, and without having to drop the bag over the 24 inchlimitation provided for by Post Office Regulations.

From the description so far, there are several important features to beobserved. For one thing, the bags are properly oriented longitudinallyof the vehicle 14 for application to their respective tiers 46 by theirapplication to the conveyor 38 (whether from conveyor 45 or by manualapplication from a pile formed on the loading dock), and thisorientation is maintained throughout further handling of the bags thatmoves them into the stacked relation indicated in the vehicle 14.Furthermore, the lifting and positioning of the bags 44 onto theconveyor, where the bags are not supplied by conveyor 45, is the onlymanual labor involved and the worker is thus concerned with only an easylifting and positioning action at a convenient working height above thedock surface 16, with such action needing only to be performed once perbag.

It is also to be noted that the loading of the vehicle 14 is donewithout anyone having to enter the vehicle, and palletizing of theindividual bags and/or tiers of bags is unnecessary.

SPECIFIC DESCRlPTlON The loading clock 12 that is illustrated isintended to be representative of conventional loading docks now commonlyassociated with Post Office installations and the like. Suitable bridgeplate is employed to facilitate the running on and off of the conveyors38 and 40 into and from vehicle 14.

The vehicle 14 may be of any standard type, that illustrated intendingto represent a typical vehicle now in use, though it is to be understoodthat the invention is equally applicable to other vehicles that are notof the semi-trailer type.

Conveyor frame 82 of conveyor 38 generally comprises a pair of sideplates 102 and 104 suitably joined together and journaling rollers 106which support conveyor belt 84. Conveyor belt 84 at its ends is turnedover suitable conventional end rollers (not shown) that rotate aboutaxes 108 and 110,

Conveyor belt 84 is driven in any suitable manner, as by drive apparatus92 which is only diagrammatically illustrated, but includes a suitablemotor 112 driving belt 84 through a suitable reducer, sprockets orpulley and connecting chain drive or belt or the like (not shown). Frame82 at its end 52 rides on one or more suitable supporting wheels 114 andat its forward end 50 rests on a suitable support structure 116 carriedby wheeled frame 62 of conveyor 40. Support structure 116 carries a restplate 120 which is preferably formed to receive a pair of locating pins118 suitably fixed to and disposed in spaced apart relation transverselyof the frame 82 so that frame 82 remains aligned with conveyor 40 whenconveyors 38 and 40 are moved to the right of FIG. 1 and thus outwardlyof the vehicle 14.

Frame 82 includes a suitable roller structure 122 adjacent its end 50for supporting that end of the frame 82 when it is disconnected fromwheel frame 62.

Conveyor frame 60 of conveyor 40 comprises side frame members 130 and132 between which are journaled suitable rollers 134 that support theconveyor belt 86, the latter being trained over suitable end rollersjournaled at the ends of the frame 60 for rotation about the axes 66 and136, respectively. Frame members 130 and 132 are suitably joinedtogether to form a unitary frame structure which supports power drive 94which may be any suitable form of standard center drive for conveyorsinvolving the usual bend and tensioning pulleys shown in box structure140 and driven by a suitable motor and reducer drive mechanism (notshown) housed in suitable housing 142.

As indicated in FIG. 3, the conveyor frame 60 includes an I- beamstructure 150 fixed to side frames 130 and 132 by a suitable bracketstructure 152 on either side of frame 60, and side beams 154 extendingalong either side of the side frame members 130 and 132, with theseparts being joined together by suitable underbrace beams 156. The ends158 of the beams 154 are suitably pivotally connected to frame 62 forpivotal movement about axis 66, as by each being provided with a bearingstructure 160 that respectively receive stub shafts 162 suitably mountedon the wheeled frame 62 by respective bearing structures 164.

The wheeled frame 62 comprises suitable longitudinally extending framemembers 170 fixed together in any suitable manner and suitably mountingcasters 172 on either side thereof at the rear end 174 of the frame 62,and having affixed to the forward end 176 of the frame 62 a wheelmounting structure 178 on either side thereof(see FIG. 3), each suitablymounting a suitable supporting wheel 180.

The wheeled frame structure 62 intermediate its ends 174 and 176includes a pair of upright beams 182 disposed on either side of theconveyor frame 60 and each journaling a pulley 184. Pulleys 184 eachhave trained over same the respective support cables 186 each having oneof its ends 188 anchored to cross member 156A of frame 60, as at 190,and the other of its ends operatively connected to the respective reels192 keyed to shaft 194 suitably journaled on the frame 62 and driven bysuitable motor 196 through interconnecting sprockets 198, driven chain200, sprocket 202, and reducer 204 (see FIG. 3). Thus, actuation ofmotor 196, which preferably is of the reversably operable type, effectsraising and lowering of the end 41 of conveyor frame 60 about axis 66.It will be observed that axis 66 lies in substantial alignment with thelevel of conveyors 38 and 40 when both are more or less horizontallydisposed, and axis 66 is intermediate the ends 54 and 41 of therespective conveyors 38 and 40.

The conveyor frame 88 of conveyor apparatus 70 comprises side framemembers 210 and 212 suitably joined together and journaling rollers (notshown) that support conveyor belt 90, as well as end rollers 216 and 218over which the ends of the belt 90 are trained. As indicated in FIG. 5,the drive 76 for conveyor 90 comprises suitable motor 220 acting throughsuitable reducer 220 to actuate drive chain 222 that is suitably coupledto end roller 216 and intermediate rotatable shaft 224. A second drivechain 226 likewise couples the end roller 216 and shaft 224 to equalizethe application of the drive to the roller 216.

Side frame member 212 in the form shown includes a downward extension230 provided with a lower supporting flange 232 on which drive motor 234and reducer 236 of drive mechanism 72 are supported. Extension 230 alsohas fixed thereto intermediate flange 238 provided with an upwardlyextending end portion 240. Flange 238 and its end portion 240 extendsubstantially the length of the conveyor 70 and have journaled thereonspaced sets 242 of supporting rollers 244, 246, 248 and 250 whichoperatively engage the end flanges 252 and 254 of beam 150 in the mannerindicated in FIG. 2 to support the conveyor apparatus 70 in the l-beamstructure 150 for movement longitudinally of the latter. Roller sets242, of course, will be in sufficient number and are positionedlaterally of conveyor 40 to handle the loads involved (from anengineering standpoint).

Also journaled on the upwardly extending portion 240 of flange 238 are apair of pulleys 256 and 258 disposed in spaced apart relationlongitudinally of flange 238.

Trained over the pulleys 256 and 258 is a cable 260 that has its upperrun 262 (see FIG. 4) anchored to l-beam 150 by suitable clamp device 264that is in turn suitably fixed to lbeam 150.

In the arrangement of drive 72 that is shown in the drawings, pulley 256is actuated by motor 234 through reducer 236 driving suitable pulley266, pulley belt 268, and pulley 270 that is suitably coupled to pulley256, as by being journaled on its mounting shaft 272.

It will thus be seen that the operator at control panel 35 can actuatedrive 72 to rotate pulley 256 as required to move conveyor apparatus 70in either direction laterally of the conveyor 40, motor 234 being of thereversible drivable type for this purpose. Likewise the operator fromcontrol panel 35 can operate drive 76, which likewise is preferablyreversible drivable so that conveyor belt can be driven in eitherdirection. Thus, the head of the T shaped conveyor apparatus 81 isadjustable laterally of its body.

The operation of the various pieces of apparatus involved in thisinvention, as already indicated, are preferably controlled from suitablecontrol panel 35 or the like, located outside of the vehicle 14, througha suitable wiring arrangement, and ordinarily only a single operatorwill be needed to both load the bags on the conveyor 38 and operate theconveyor 40 to deposit the bags in the vehicle 14. The machine involvedcan readily be controlled to avoid dropping the bags further than the 24inch limitation prescribed by the Post Office Department.

The bag stacking arrangement of this invention will load trucks andtrailers in a fraction of the time now required, and at less than halfthe cost, while at the same time greatly reducing the effort required byworkers handling the bags. This not only greatly reduces the tie up timefor each truck, but also significantly reduces the over-all cost of mailbag handling.

In a specific embodiment of the invention, the conveyor has a length of40 inches for use in vehicles 14 of a standard type having approximatelya 96 inch floor width (between walls 26 and 28).

Conveyors 38 and 40 as combined provide an elongate run back conveyorapparatus 10 having its forward portion adjustably T-shaped inconfiguration and mounted for tilting movement about axis 66 that isintermediate its ends and at the manual convenient loading elevation ofconveyor 38.

The foregoing description and the drawings are given merely to explainand illustrate the invention and the invention is not to be limitedthereto, except insofar as the appended claims are so limited, sincethose skilled in the art who have the disclosure before them will beable to make modifications and variations therein without departing fromthe scope of the invention.

1 claim:

1. 1n bulk mail handling apparatus for loading elongated mail bags froma loading dock into the load receiving area of an end loading transportvehicle backed into load receiving position adjacentthe dock to disposeits end opening to receive the bags, without workers on the dockhandling the bags having to enter the vehicle, and without requiringthat pallets remain with the bags after they are loaded into thevehicle, said apparatus comprising:

a conveyor-movably mounted on the loading dock adjacent the loadreceiving position of the vehicle and having a width transverselythereof approximately the width of the mail bags, 7

said conveyor being positioned to be aligned with the vehicle and itsend opening in the load receiving position of the vehicle and mountedfor movement into and out of the vehicle,

said conveyor presenting an upwardly facing load transporting surface atan elevation for convenient manual lifting 'of the bags from the dockonto the conveyor surface and defining a path of movement for the mailbags that extends longitudinally of said conveyor,

with said conveyor having its forward end extending toward and movablysupported on the load receiving position of the vehicle and mounted forupward tilting movement about an axis intermediate the ends of theconveyor and adjacent the level of said conveyor surface,

means on said conveyor for swinging said conveyor forward end about saidaxis to raise and lower said conveyor forward end relative to thevehicle load receiving area,

said conveyor at its forward end carrying a mail bag discharge deviceextending transversely thereof,

said discharge device being adjustably mounted for selective movementtransversely to either side of said path of movement and including meansfor selectively discharging mail bags from either end of same,

whereby mail bags may be loaded onto said conveyor surface with the bagsthereof oriented to extend longitudinally of the vehicle and formovement by said conveyor in single file form to said discharge device,and said discharge device may be selectively positioned and operated totransversely shift and then discharge said bags one by one in a stackforming position in said vehicle area while maintaining saidorientation.

2. ln bulk mail handling apparatus for loading elongated mail bags froma loading dock into the load receiving area of an end loading transportvehicle backed into load receiving position adjacent the dock to disposeits end opening to receive the bags, without workers on the dockhandling the bags having to enter the vehicle, and without requiringthat pallets remain with the bags after they are loaded into thevehicle, said apparatus comprising:

a conveyor movably mounted on the loading dock adjacent the loadreceiving position of the vehicle,

said conveyor being positioned to be aligned with the vehicle and itsend opening in the load receiving position of the vehicle and mountedfor longitudinal movement into and out of the vehicle,

said conveyor presenting an upwardly facing load transporting surface atan elevation for convenient manual lifting of the bags from the dockonto the conveyor surface and defining a path of movement for the mailbags that extends longitudinally of said conveyor,

said surface being proportioned transversely of the conveyor toaccommodate the bags loaded thereon in'single file form and oriented toextend longitudinally of the conveyor,

with said conveyor having its forward end extending toward ment meansfor selectively positioning said discharge device to dispose either endthereof at predetermined positions transversely of said path of movementin the vehicle load receiving area,

said conveyor being proportioned lengthwise thereof to extend between arearward mail bag receiving position on the loading dock and forwardmail bag discharging positions within the vehicle, 7

means on said conveyor for tilting said conveyor forward end about saidaxis to adjust same to dispose said discharge device at a selectedposition of elevation in the vehicle load receiving area,

and means for shifting to and then discharging from a selected end ofthe discharge device mail bags received thereon from said conveyorsurface,

whereby the mail bags may be mechanically transferred between the mailbag receiving position and the vehicle load receiving area whilemaintaining said orientation.

3. The apparatus set forth in claim 2 wherein:

said discharge device comprises:

a conveyor apparatus for moving mail bags received thereon from saidconveyor transversely of said path,

and means for driving said conveyor in either direction.

4. The apparatus set forth in claim 3 wherein:

said conveyor apparatus has a length that does not exceed one half thedimension of the vehicle area transversely of the vehicle.

5. The apparatus set forth in claim 3 wherein:

said conveyor comprises two conveyor units secured together in end toend tandem relation,

with the conveyor unit at the discharge end of said conveyor comprisingsaid forward end of said conveyor.

6. The apparatus set forth in claim 5 wherein:

said conveyor unit comprising said forward end of said conveyorcomprises:

a wheeled frame,

a conveyor frame mounted on said wheeled frame for tilting movementabout said axis,

said tilting means comprising:

a pair of uprights carried by said wheeled frame and disposed on eitherside of said conveyor frame and between said axis and said dischargedevice,

cable means trained over the respective uprights and connected at likeends thereof to said conveyor frame,

and power means operably connected to the other ends of said cable meansfor tilting said conveyor frame about said axis.

7. The apparatus set forth in claim 5 wherein:

said conveyor frame has a horizontal beam secured thereto at the saiddischarge end of said conveyor and extending transversely of said path,

said conveyor apparatus being carried by said beam and mounted thereonfor said movement of said discharge device transversely of said path,

said selective positioning means comprising power operated means carriedby said conveyor apparatus.

1. In bulk mail handling apparatus for loading elongated mail bags froma loading dock into the load receiving area of an end loading transportvehicle backed into load receiving position adjacent the dock to disposeits end opening to receive the bags, without workers on the dockhandling the bags having to enter the vehicle, and without requiringthat pallets remain with the bags after they are loaded into thevehicle, said apparatus comprising: a conveyor movably mounted on theloading dock adjacent the load receiving position of the vehicle andhaving a width transversely thereof approximately the width of the mailbags, said conveyor being positioned to be aligned with the vehicle andits end opening in the load receiving position of the vehicle andmounted for movement into and out of the vehicle, said conveyorpresenting an upwardly facing load transporting surface at an elevationfor convenient manual lifting of the bags from the dock onto theconveyor surface and defining a path of movement for the mail bags thatextends longitudinally of said conveyor, with said conveyor having itsforward end extending toward and movably supported on the load receivingposition of the vehicle and mounted for upward tilting movement about anaxis intermediate the ends of the conveyor and adjacent the level ofsaid conveyor surface, means on said conveyor for swinging said conveyorforward end about said axis to raise and lower said conveyor forward endrelative to the vehicle load receiving area, said conveyor at itsforward end carrying a mail bag discharge device extending transverselythereof, said discharge device being adjustably mounted for selectivemovement transversely to either side of said path of movement andincluding means for seLectively discharging mail bags from either end ofsame, whereby mail bags may be loaded onto said conveyor surface withthe bags thereof oriented to extend longitudinally of the vehicle andfor movement by said conveyor in single file form to said dischargedevice, and said discharge device may be selectively positioned andoperated to transversely shift and then discharge said bags one by onein a stack forming position in said vehicle area while maintaining saidorientation.
 2. In bulk mail handling apparatus for loading elongatedmail bags from a loading dock into the load receiving area of an endloading transport vehicle backed into load receiving position adjacentthe dock to dispose its end opening to receive the bags, without workerson the dock handling the bags having to enter the vehicle, and withoutrequiring that pallets remain with the bags after they are loaded intothe vehicle, said apparatus comprising: a conveyor movably mounted onthe loading dock adjacent the load receiving position of the vehicle,said conveyor being positioned to be aligned with the vehicle and itsend opening in the load receiving position of the vehicle and mountedfor longitudinal movement into and out of the vehicle, said conveyorpresenting an upwardly facing load transporting surface at an elevationfor convenient manual lifting of the bags from the dock onto theconveyor surface and defining a path of movement for the mail bags thatextends longitudinally of said conveyor, said surface being proportionedtransversely of the conveyor to accommodate the bags loaded thereon insingle file form and oriented to extend longitudinally of the conveyor,with said conveyor having its forward end extending toward and movablysupported on the load receiving position of the vehicle and mounted forupward tilting movement about an axis intermediate the ends of saidconveyor and adjacent the level of said surface, said conveyor at itsforward end carrying a mail bag discharge device extending transverselythereof and mounted for movement transversely of said path of movement,means for selectively positioning said discharge device to disposeeither end thereof at predetermined positions transversely of said pathof movement in the vehicle load receiving area, said conveyor beingproportioned lengthwise thereof to extend between a rearward mail bagreceiving position on the loading dock and forward mail bag dischargingpositions within the vehicle, means on said conveyor for tilting saidconveyor forward end about said axis to adjust same to dispose saiddischarge device at a selected position of elevation in the vehicle loadreceiving area, and means for shifting to and then discharging from aselected end of the discharge device mail bags received thereon fromsaid conveyor surface, whereby the mail bags may be mechanicallytransferred between the mail bag receiving position and the vehicle loadreceiving area while maintaining said orientation.
 3. The apparatus setforth in claim 2 wherein: said discharge device comprises: a conveyorapparatus for moving mail bags received thereon from said conveyortransversely of said path, and means for driving said conveyor in eitherdirection.
 4. The apparatus set forth in claim 3 wherein: said conveyorapparatus has a length that does not exceed one half the dimension ofthe vehicle area transversely of the vehicle.
 5. The apparatus set forthin claim 3 wherein: said conveyor comprises two conveyor units securedtogether in end to end tandem relation, with the conveyor unit at thedischarge end of said conveyor comprising said forward end of saidconveyor.
 6. The apparatus set forth in claim 5 wherein: said conveyorunit comprising said forward end of said conveyor comprises: a wheeledframe, a conveyor frame mounted on said wheeled frame for tiltingmovement about said axis, said tilting means comprising: a pair ofuprights carrieD by said wheeled frame and disposed on either side ofsaid conveyor frame and between said axis and said discharge device,cable means trained over the respective uprights and connected at likeends thereof to said conveyor frame, and power means operably connectedto the other ends of said cable means for tilting said conveyor frameabout said axis.
 7. The apparatus set forth in claim 5 wherein: saidconveyor frame has a horizontal beam secured thereto at the saiddischarge end of said conveyor and extending transversely of said path,said conveyor apparatus being carried by said beam and mounted thereonfor said movement of said discharge device transversely of said path,said selective positioning means comprising power operated means carriedby said conveyor apparatus.